Pipe coupling



July 10, 1923.

H. W. HAHN PIPE COUPLING Filed Jan. 25 1922 Patented July 10, 1923. i

HENRY W. HAHN, OF DENVER, COLORADO.

PIPE COUPLING.

Application filed January 25, 1922. Serial No. 531,667.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY W. HAHN, a citizen of the United States,residin at Denver, in the county of Denver and tate of Colorado, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Pipe Couplings, of whichthe following is a specification, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings.

This invention relates to pipe couplings,

and more particularly to a pipe coupling or connection for use indrainage and venting systems.

An important object of the invention is to provide a leaded couplingwhich may be completed after the insertion of the pipe into the joint bythe driving in of a caulking ring which is of tapered construction sothat in driving the ring in the ring will be swelled and tightened toengage the pipe and fitting throughout its length.

I am aware that caulking rings have been used in conjunction withcouplings of the straight hub type but these rings are unsatisfactorydue to the fact that where the leaded ring is of uniform thicknessthroughout its. length the major portion of the expansion of thecaulking ring will take place at the point where the hammer blow isapplied to the caulking ring, i.. e., at the upper end thereof, andaccordingly the upper end of the joint is ti ht whereas the inner endthereof is loose. urthermore, in the usual type of hub couplin the leadabout the joint being of consi erable thickness, permits of considerableplay of the inserted pipe due to the thickness of the lead and to thecondition above referred to as, a result of driving in the caulkingring. It will, of course, be understood that with a straight caulk it isnecessary that the caulking ring be substantially of the same size asthe opening into which it fits as otherwise it would be practicallyimposible to drive the ring in as it would swell in the center. With theuse of a tapered caulking ring the longitudinal resistance afforded bythe inner end of the ring is much less than that afiorded by the outerend and accordingly the swelling effect resulting from blows upon theouter end will be first applied to the inner end ta ngl1 tthe inner endof the joint will be made A further object of the invention is to. 7provide in combination with a fitting havmg a tapered pipe receivingopening, a tapered caulking ring therefor formed of lead or anyanalogous material which is larger at the inner or smaller end than theinner or smaller end of the fitting opening so that in order to seat thesame it is necessary to apply considerable force, thus swelling theinner end of the coupling into engagement with the pipe and maintainingthe same in engagement with the walls of the fitting.

A further object of the invention is to provide in a fitting having atapered opening such as above described and in conjunction with acaulking ring of this type, a groove adjacent the lower .or smaller endof the taper of the fitting into which the lead of the caulking ring mayswell to lock the caulklng ring in position, this swelling beingmaterially assisted by the tapered construction of the caulking ring, asherein- 7:; before set forth.

These and other objects I attain by the use of the construction andarrangement employed in the accompanying drawings in whlch for thepurpose of illustration are so shown preferred embodiments of my in-\vention and in which like reference characters designate like partsthroughout.

In the drawings Figure 1 1s a sectional view showing an L couplingconstructed in accordance with my invention;

Figure 2-is a side elevation partially in section showing a slip jointcoupling for connecting two rigid pipes, and

Figure 3 is a View of the slip joint coupling removed, showing theposition of the same prior to its insertion.

Referring now more particularly to thedrawings, the numeral 10 indicatesa pipe 95 fitting of any desired form, such as an L, T, Y or the like.In accordance with my invention the pipe receiving openings of thefitting are provided with a tapered opening 11, the outer end of whichis considerably 10o a b t am.

larger than the diameter of a pipe employed in conjunction with thefitting and the inner end of which is but slightly greater in diameterthan the pipe. Atapered caulking ring 12 is likewise supplied, the inneror smaller end 12 of which is of greater diameter than the inner orsmaller end of the conical opening 11. The side wall of the opening 11is grooved adjacent its inner or smaller end to form an annular pocket13 and if desired, the wall of the opening may be provided adjacent itsouter end with an annular pocket 14. These pockets may be made in anydesired number and size, in the present illustration the pocket 13 beingillustrated as the larger. The inner end of the tapered opening ischaracterized by a shoulder 15 against which a pipe 16, inserted in thetapered opening of the fitting,is adapted to engage.

In the use of my invention the pipe is first inserted in the fittinguntil it engages the shoulder, the caulking ring 12 having first beenapplied to thepipe with its inner or smaller end directed toward thefitting. The ring 12 is then driven into the fitting and due to thewedging action of the side Walls and to the fact that the inner end ofthe ring is larger than the inner end of the bore into which it extends,force must be applied to the ring to seat it. This force, ashereinbefore stated, acts first upon the reduced or smaller end of thecaulking ring causing the same to firmly engage against the pipe andfill the tapered opening around the pipe. Due, however, to the smallamount of space remaining in the tapered opening 11 after thepositioning of the pipe therein, the amount of lead driven into thelower or inner extremity of the joint is not sufficient to permit itsworking around the edges of the pipe in such a manner as to obstruct theflow of drainage through the pipe and fitting. Attention is directed tothe fact that the inner edges of the completed joint, as shown inFigures 1 and 2 are wafer like and accordingly have not sufficientinherent strength to force the pipe longitudinally away from theshoulders 15 against the binding action of the caulking ring. a

In the form shown in Figures 2 and 3, I have shown a fittingparticularly adapted for use in connecting two rigid pipes, designated Aand B, which are each provided with a fitting F for the reception of aconnecting pipe. Heretofore it has been necessary to employ, in makingsuch connections, either a piece of pipe having a long screw thread onone end or the construction kn wn as the right and left coupling and theflange union. All of these devices are comparatively expensive toconstruct and require a much longer time to install than the fittingshown in these figures in which the fitting .11 of sufficient size to 10is shown as provided with the tapered opening 11 similar to the fittingsillustrated in Figure 1, but having the shoulder 15 omitted and theinternal diameter of the fitting at the lower end of the tapered openingpermit the insertion therein of the connecting pipe. This enlarged boreis continued for the desired distance and the remainder of the fittingis tapered and provided at its lower or engaging end with external screwthreads for engaging with the usual type of fitting F.

In the use of this form of my invention the pipe 16 is inserted in thefitting and into the bore 17 thereof so that the pipe and fitting.operate with a telescoping action and their combined lengths are lessthan the distance between adjacent faces of the fitting F of the rigidpipes A and B. The pipe 16 and fitting 10 are then engaged with theirrespective fittings F and screwed tightly into position,the'caulkinggland 12 having been first applied to the pipe 16 in the mannerhereinbefore set forth. After the fitting and pipe are firmly engaged,the gland is driven into position. In this use it is preferred that thepipe 16 be of sufiicient length to project to the lower end of thetapered bore 11. The forcing of the ring into position will bind thepipe in position in the fitting and the waferlike edges thereof will notextend alongside the pipe a sufficient distance to be exposed beyond theend thereof to cause interference with drainage.

From the foregoing it is believed to be obvious that I have devised afitting and caulking gland therefor which is particularly well adaptedfor use in that in the application of the caulking gland the same isfirmly engaged with the fitting and pipe throu hout its length and byreason of the fact that it permits of a much more readily installed andcheaper construction than the devices heretofore employed. It willlikewise be obvious that some change and modification is possible in theconstruction of both the fittings and caulking ring without in anymanner departing from the spirit of my invention and I accordingly donot limit myself to the specific embodiments thereof hereinbeforeillustrated except as hereinafter claimed.

What I claim is:

1. A pipe fitting, comprising a bell having a tapered bore, a pipeextending into said bore, the wall of the tapered bore of the bell beingprovided adjacent the inner end thereof, but spaced therefrom, with anangular groove, and a soft metal caulking ring pressed into the spacebetween the pipe and the walls of the bore and extending into andfitting said groove.

2. A pipe fitting, comprising abell havin a tapered bore, a pipeextending into said bore, the wall of the tapered bore of the 1,461,482hell bein provided adjacent the inner end having the inner end thereoflarger than thereof, ut spaced therefrom, with an anthe smaller end ofthe bore and smaller than gular groove, and a soft metal caulking rinthe bore at the outer end of the groove. 10 presse into the spacebetween the ipe an In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my 5 the wallsof the bore and exten ing into signature.

and fitting said groove, said caulking ring prior to its apphcationbeing tapered and HENRY W. HAHN.

